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NTD STATES PATENT OFFICE.

VM. ASE\VELL, OF NEW' YORK, N. Y.

SURFACE CONDENSER ron. stream-ENGINES.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 27,573, dated March 20, 1860.

To all whom it 'may concern:

Be it known that I, VILLIAM SEWELL, of the city, county and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Iinprovements in SurfaceCondensers; and I do hereby declare that the following specification,taken in connection with the drawings, is a full, clear, and exactdescription thereof.

In the drawings Figure l is a cross section through a condenser taken ona line parallel with the axes of the tubes. Figs. 2 and 3 arelongitudinal sections through two tubes of a surface condenser on alarger vscale and exhibiting my improved method of making a tight jointbetween a tube and a tube sheet and two modifications of the method ofpreventing tubes from creeping out of their proper position and also anend view or plan of a tube sheet.

The advantages resulting from the employment of a good surface condenserare so well known that it is needless to descant upon them herein,neither is it necessary to do more than merely mention the facts thatvarious plans has been devised both by myself and others for the purposeof cheapening the manufacture of such condensers and so constructingthem that they shall not when in use tend to tear themselves apart owingto causes arising from their manner of construction.

My present invention has for its object the attainment of these sameends by contrivances different, so far as I know from those hithertoessayed or described.

The condenser shown in Fig. 1 is as far as its shell and apertures areconcerned similar to many now in use. The shell is shown at L a a, andit is provided with an opening E with which the exhaust-pipe leadingfrom the engine is to be connected and with another aperture F withwhich a channel way or pipe leading to the air pump is to be inconnection, so that steam may enter at E and after condensation bewithdrawn by the air pump through F. Two other openings Gr and I-I willserve for the entrance and discharge of condensing water, which may beforced to traverse around the tubes by means of a circulating pump or byother appropriate contrivance; while in the interior of the condenserare certain plates K which serve in a well known way to force the waterto pass in succession through all parts of the condenser. The condenseris also provided with two tube sheets C and L each made fast in theshell and pierced with holes equal in number to the tubes that are to beused. These holes being so placed in relation to each other and to theposition of the condenser that the open ends of the tubes shall be at alower level than the closed ends.

If the first part of my invention is used the tube sheet C only needhave a tight oint between it and the shell of the condenser and thetubes are to be slipped in with their open ends projecting through thetube sheet C while their closed ends lie in the sheet L which servesmerely as a rack to keep the closed ends of the tubes in properposition. The tube sheet supporting the open ends of the tubes, is to becounter-sunk around each tube as clearly shown in Figs. Q and 3, and asmall ring or thick washer of india rubber is to be placed around thetube and with one side resting against the tube sheet; another plate Dis then to be taken, and placed in front of the open ends of the tubes.This plate has as many holes in it as there are tubes, and each hole isto be opposite a tube, and to be drilled substantially in the mannershown in the drawings, that is to say of larger diameter on the sidenearest the tube sheet. This plate is then by means of proper screws orotherwise to be forced to approach the tube sheet clamping up the indiarubber washers tightly between the plate and the tube sheet andcompressing the washers so that they make a tight joint between the tubesheet and the exterior of the tubes. By this contrivance many washerscan be clamped up and many joints made by the agency of a singleclamping plate, and if the holes in that plate be smaller in diameterthan the exterior of the tubes, it is clear that the tube will after itstrikes that small part of the hole be prevented from creeping anyfurther in a direction toward the clamping plate. The tubes mighthowever tend to creep in the other direction and to prevent this I useeither a plan heretofore described and ypatented by me or a new planwhich I now claim as my invention. The former plan is exhibited in Fig.2 where the hole in the rack plate is shown as drilled of largerdiameter than the tube only part of the way through the sheet, while forthe remainder of the distance it is smaller in diameter than the tubethus forming a shoulder against which the tube will strike if it tendsto creep toward the rack plate. The

other plan is to form a flange or lip such as m around the end of thetube, and in using a tube thus constructed the tube is to be slippedinside of the washer before the tube is entered into the tube sheet; theflange will then lie as represented in Fig. 3 between the washer and theclamping plate and will by virtue of its confinement between the twoprevent the tube from creeping ineither direction. This flange alsorenders the joint more secure for if it should so happen that theinterior of the washer failed to hug tightly all parts of the tube, itis certain that the rubber would fit tight both against the flange andthe tube sheet thus insuring a perfect joint.

My method of making a tight joint between condenser tubes and tubesheets may be used at each end of open tubes as well as in the specialapplication of it here described to the open end only of closedend-tubes and closed tubes may be applied according to the principle ofmy'invention either with the tube sheet joints described or with othertube sheet joints.

lVhen the condenser is made as specially described the steam will enterthe open ends of the tubes, pass into them and be condensed and thecondensed water will run out at the same open ends and be removed by theair pump. The tubes are inclined as described to aid the water inpassing out and my object in using closed end tubes is twofold, first tosave expensive joints of any kind by reducing their number one half andsecond to decrease the chances of leakage by leaving one end of the tubepractically free, to move as may be required when contracting expandingtwisting or bending under the influence of the varying temperature towhich variousparts of it are exposed when in use; and by aclosed-end-tube I mean an ordinary straight or nearly straight tubeclosed at one end by a disk making part of and moving with the tube, andnot a tube with another tube either cylindrical or conical inside of it,or a tube having one of its open ends abutting against a plate, with ajoint between such open end and the plate.

'Ihe clamping plate used by me may cover the whole tube sheet or be insections each making pressure against the washers or vulcanized indiarubber rings of a number of condensing tubes, and by its use many jointsmay be made tight at one operation and with one set of screw bolts ortheir equivalents, only applied as a means of setting tight all thejoints, which when made will be tight, will admit of some movement ofeach tube in its place, and can easily be loosened so as to permit ofthe examination or removal of tubes. The joints moreover are notexpensive.

I claim as my own inventionl. The combination and use in the mannerherein shown and described with the tubes and tube sheet and follower orplate D, of a series of independent elastic rings for the purpose setforth.

2. The simultaneous compression of the whole or a portion of said seriesof elastic rings, by means of a plate D, either whole or divided,substantially in the manner and for the purpose herein shown anddescribed.

3. The employment of the flanged tubes in combination with plate D andsaid rings, as and for the purpose herein shown and de scribed.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name in the city ofNew York on this 19 day of Nov. A. D. 1858.

IVILLIAM SEWELL.

In presence of- RnnvEs E. SELMns, I. IV. MGMULLEN.

